


Dirk: Follow Your Heart

by inamichi



Category: Homestuck, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Crossover, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:59:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1867182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inamichi/pseuds/inamichi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Human MLP x Homestuck Crossover College AU in which Dirk is crushing on the cute rainbow-haired sk8ter boy he's been spotting around campus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Sight

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Dirk was sitting outside the library with a Red Bull in one hand and his iPhone in the other, idly skimming through his numerous “sick/ill beatz”playlists, deciding what to listen to on the walk home.

He was still acclimating to life in his new college town. He was a few weeks into his junior year, having transferred from a university on the west coast shortly after the end of his sophomore year. He had been living here for a few months now, but had only recently began interacting with his new environment, prompted by the start of school. The time leading up to this had been filled mostly with observation. Data collection. Learning.

With the opening of the academic year, the town flooded with students. The difference between summer vacation and now was astounding. It wasn't just that his classes were classes full of new people-- they were everywhere. All the cafes and parks and shops that he'd carefully scouted out before were now completely different.

It made him a bit uneasy at first, but he'd manage. He had to. Understanding the world around him before confronting it gave Dirk a sense of control and security. As long as he was acutely aware of everything that surrounded him, he could make calculated decisions with predictable outcomes. He wasn't going to mess up this time.

His thumb stopped scrolling and lingered on the screen of his phone. It had stopped on a playlist called “Cerulean Gals” and his shoulders sunk (although in a manner that would have been imperceptible to any passerby). He wondered why he kept it on his phone. It was a playlist that he'd made for _him_ and Dirk really wished he could just delete it already and move on and--

“!!!”

So engrossed in his phone, Dirk had started walking without paying attention when WHOOSH-- some kid zoomed past on a skateboard and almost hit him. Barely missing his shoe, a gust of wind shot past as he looked up to who he'd had this near miss with.

Although already pretty far away, he could see that it was younger looking boy with rainbow colored hair. “SORRY BRO!!!” the boy squeaked, turning slightly and lifting his hand in what must have been a gesture of apology, but not stopping at all. The boy quickly disappeared around a corner.

“...”

Although you'd never tell by looking at him, this left Dirk flustered. He tapped on the playlist “Ill beatz based on sick tweets” and walked back to his apartment.


	2. It's Better Here

The following Thursday was rainy crap weather, so Dirk opted to stay in and catch up on the latest internet memes. Was it flower crowns again? What the hell. Reading that mudkips might make a comeback, his computer chimed suddenly- he was being Pestered by Roxy.

\---

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT]

TG: yo di-stri hows the col-li goin?

TG: (college life)

TG: ;)

TT: You know how it goes. Sit in a class, listen to some dude talk, weave intricate essay on how everything in life both begins and end with horses. A-triple-plus. Become further convinced that no one is actually reading any of my shit.

TG: hey maybe they like horses too u never know!!

TG: soooooo

TG: u made ne new friends yet?? ;)

TT: Yes-- so many in fact that I had to purchase another roll of numbers for my dispenser, and another two signs that say “Please take a number” to place at intervals along the line leading up to me where the first and second become no longer visible. This has the unfortunate side effect of attracting even more interested parties, meaning that I am almost literally drowning in friendship.

TG: *rooollls eyees*

TG: dirky im talkin bout REAL friendzies like u can chillax with not who gotta line up and take a number just to bask in ur striderly glory

TT: How's everyone back there doing?

TG: p good i s'pose. janey finally graduated her feelins on jake and got a new bf >>

TT: Good for her. Must be nice.

TG: :(

TT: Listen, I have to go. Lines outside are gettin unruly, gonna have to go hose them down.

TT: I'll talk to you later.

timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pesteringtipsyGnostalgic [TG]  

\---

Dirk got along well enough with his classmates, but still hadn't met anyone that shared his love for beatz, horses, or smuppets. He got invited out plenty, and went out plenty, but was generally bored a lot. He thought that next semester he'd try signing up for something more ironic. Maybe art.

Sometimes (like nowtimes) he felt a twinge of regret for having left everything behind. But what would it have been like had he stayed?

No. Too many feelings. Too much drama. It was better this way.


	3. A Name

It was Saturday again, and Dirk decided to decline all invites for the afternoon and spend it focusing on a task he'd been neglecting for what felt like forever. Beat-boxing under his breath, he jotted down rap lyrics in a Lisa Frank notebook, invisibly smirking to himself at lines that were particularly witty.

It was a nice day, so he did this outside a cafe on Main Street, which was forever abustle with students, tourists, and anything in between. He was just about to take another sip of his strawnana smoothie (delicious only in the irony of him having to say the word “strawnana” out loud to order it) when he saw _him_ \- the rainbow haired boy that had nearly run him down a week before.

Leaning against a building next to the cafe, the boy was repeatedly tossing a frisbee up in the air an catching it again. Dirk was tense. This boy was cute.

Through his ironic (but at times like this, practical) animu shades , Dirk observed.

The boy wasn't exactly muscular, but was toned in a subtle, nice way. He had the toasty-tan skin of someone who had spent their entire summer outdoors, and was wearing a light blue jersey with a huge “#1” on the front of it. The short sleeves of a black undershirt grazed the top of what had to have been the gayest tattoo Dirk had ever seen—some sort of storm cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt coming out of it.

Maybe they could bond over mutual shitty tattoos?

“Dash!!”

An energetic-looking, pretty girl with pink curly hair shouted from across the street. The boy with the rainbow hair looked up and smiled when he saw her.

“Hey!!” he said, his voice squeaking at the end as if puberty had fucked up somewhere. The girl bounded over to the boy and faced him.

“I'm soooooo sorry I'm late!! But it's TOTALLY going to be worth it. I got balloons and confetti and FUNFETTI and--” the boy reached out and covered her mouth.

“Okay that's awesome! But you're late, and since I was waiting for you, we're both late, so we gotta go, right now!!”

The girl nodded. The boy removed his hand.

“I know how we can make up for lost time!!” the girl said, with an unnervingly huge smile on her face.

“Waaaaay ahead of you,” the boy said as he shifted his weight from the building to his feet.

Without any further discussion, both of them turned and faced campus, put one leg out and poised the other back, and leaned forward.

“Ready... SET..... GO!!!!”

They cried this in unison before bolting off together down the street. Both of them were crazy fast.

Dirk, making sure not to disturb his outward composure, and took another sip of his smoothie as he began to mentally catalog the interaction he had just witnessed.

The two seemed pretty chummy. Was she his girlfriend? It was impossible to say at this point, but it was something Dirk had to be prepared for. He ticked off all the events and information he had gathered, and was especially pleased about one thing in particular: he had a name.


	4. Eavesdropping

Dirk had determined that Dash probably did not go to his school—he never saw him on campus, but would occasionally see him around Main Street or in some of the local parks. Sometimes he’d see him hanging out with the pink-haired girl, and other times he’d see him with a different pink-haired girl who spoke in such a whisper that it was impossible to glean any information from their conversations.

This time it was a rainy Sunday, and Dirk was sitting inside one of his usual cafes (or “stalking stations” as Roxy liked to call them) on the off chance he might catch a glimpse of the boy who had so captivated his attention. He sat as he always did, in the back but facing the front door and window, feigning indifference to his surroundings as he paged through a textbook.

He was busying himself by crossing out huge blocks of text and rewriting them to his liking, looking forward to the end of the semester when he’d be able to sell the textbook back to the bookstore for another student to enjoy later.

Then suddenly, a stroke of fortune—he caught a glimpse of rainbow out of the corner of his eye, and shifted his attention to the window.

There he was.

However, he was not alone—there was the pink-haired girl, the _other_ pink haired girl, and three other girls he hadn’t seen before. Dash sure was undeniably popular with the ladies. As Dirk filed away this information, the door chimed. Oh my god. They’re coming in _here_.

The group congested the doorway for a bit as they folded in their umbrellas and peered around for a place to sit. A dark skinned girl with purple and pink hair took the initiative and indicated that they should sit on a pair of dingy, Victorian-esque couches that were placed on either side of a low, intricately carved wooden table, right near the front of the store. How perfect.

“How…. quaint!” said one of the girls, also with purple hair, who had a strange accent that Dirk couldn’t really place.

“Thanks, Rarity!” the other purple-haired girl beamed. “Do you want to help me put in an order and carry things to the table?”

“Why certainly!”

Was she British?

The two headed toward the register, which was next to a display case full of baked goods. The others sat down on the dingy couches, and Dash immediately put his feet up on the table and let out an exaggerated, loud yawn.

“So this is Twilight’s favorite “non-library” spot, huh? I guess I’m not too surprised that it’s basically a library minus the books.”

“It’s lovely,” the quiet, pink-haired girl mumbled.

“It sure does have a twinge of small-town feel to it!” said a blonde girl with a southern accent.

“AND CAKE!” shouted the not-quiet and rather energetic pink-haired girl.

The four on the couch chatted a bit amongst themselves before Rarity and who Dirk assumed to be “Twilight” came back to the table with a couple of teapots, a cake, and a small platter of cookies.

It was fascinating-- what a strange group. How did they all know each other? He’d initially assumed that Dash was just _that_ popular, and that this variety pack of shawties had just nucleated around him. After all, he’d never seen him with both of the pink-haired girls at the same time, and it had never once occurred to him that the two might have known each other.

Watching the dynamic unfold before his eyes, it became clear that they were a group of friends who had known each other since high school, and some a bit earlier than that. He got the feeling that Dash had known the quiet girl the longest, as he seemed the most comfortable with her and kept lightly teasing her for how she’d been “insanely” shy “since they were kids.”

He learned that “Twilight” actually went to his school, but that she spent the majority of her time shut up in the library. He also learned that Dash was going to one of the neighboring vocational schools and was studying to be a personal trainer. The energetic pink-haired girl went to the same school as Dash and was studying to be a baker so she could “Make cakes and eat cakes everyday PROFESSIONALLY.” They called her Pinky.

Dirk couldn’t catch anything that the other pink-haired girl said over the hum of the conversation, which was a shame since she seemed to be especially close to Dash. He wondered what he might learn from her.

It was getting late, and the group’s conversation had slowed a bit. The cookies and cakes were long gone, and they seemed relaxed and content. Not wanting to miss a beat, Dirk continued his observation. He caught the shy girl glancing at her watch when something revealing happened. Right after lifting her eyes from her wrist, she made eye contact with Dash. Almost as if on cue, Dash stood up and stretched, letting out another long, loud yawn.

“Whelp! This has been great, but it’s getting kinda late, don’cha think?”

“Oh, I guess you’re right!” Twilight said, a bit flustered. “I guess I live pretty close and forgot that some of you have a longer walk ahead of you. Wouldn’t want to have you traveling home in the dark!” Twilight smiled at the shy girl as she said this. The shy girl blushed and avoided eye contact. Maybe she mumbled a “Thank you,” but it was hard to tell. “Besides—I have a TON of studying to do!”

The group got up and collected any remaining dishes into the receptacle. They crowded at the door once again as they sorted out their umbrellas, and exited the café.

Through the window, he saw Dash say something to Pinky while pointing behind him with his thumb toward Twilight and the shy girl. Pinky nodded and headed to the right with Rarity and the blonde girl. Dash headed left with the two others.

Dirk assumed that Pinky lived closer to the vocational school she and Dash both attended, which would have been to the right, and that Dash had said something to her about why he was walking back with Twilight and the shy girl toward the college campus. He knew that Twilight was headed to the library after this, which was only a few minutes away. He doubted that Dash would be joining her at the library, and also doubted that Dash would have a reason to head that way if the shy girl had been planning on joining Twilight.

Dirk looked down at his textbook, and saw that he had already made it through 150 pages of edits. Not wanting to leave immediately after Dash’s group left, he stuck around and did 15 more. When he was finished, he gathered his things, slammed the book shut, and beat-boxed home with his headphones in but the sound off. He made a mental note to always carry his phone charger with him.


	5. Rodeo Practice

It had been about two weeks since the encounter in the café, and Dirk had only spotted Dash once since then. He knew that he wasn’t going to learn much more from simply observing, and that it was time to make some sort of move.

Here is what he had determined so far:

He was fairly certain that Dash didn’t have a girlfriend, but that he also wasn’t far from having one either. He’d seen the chemistry between Dash and both of the pink-haired girls. He was hopeful, though, since if something _were_ going to happen between Dash and one of those girls, it theoretically should have happened by now, given the amount of time they’d all known each other.

But wait.

It occurred to him that he didn’t actually know what year they all were, and remembered what he had gone through with Jake just a year prior. Oh well. Minus one point hopefulness, plus one preparedness.

Although he hadn’t been able to get a read on Dash’s orientation, he knew from experience that that was something that could be worked around. Sort of.

He knew that Dash was sporty, and could be easily encountered in a park or on a trail doing something with a frisbee or a skateboard. This would be his in.

He’d gleaned from eavesdropped conversations that Dash did indeed seem to be his “type,” and that his infatuation was based one more than just Dash’s toasty toned bod and obliviously un-ironic rainbow hair and how cool he looked on a skateboard and…

If Dirk blushed he’d be blushing right now. He knew though that the next step would be actually interacting with Dash, and making sure the spark stayed.

It was a Tuesday afternoon, and Dirk grabbed his skatesword (imagine a skateboard but shaped like a sword) from behind his bed, exited the door of his apartment, and grinded down the railing in the stairwell as if to shun the stairs (because he certainly had his share of thoughts on stairs.)

What happened next was up to fate, but Dirk knew that his preparedness would serve him well. Cool and composed, he skated off toward Main Street.

Dirk sped along, knowing that it could take a few tries before he might coincidentally run into Dash. He’d been gathering data and analyzing for so long, his mind felt heavy with possibilities and scenarios. It was nothing new, but it had been a while since he’d had a goal to focus on.

He glided through one of the larger, more open parks near campus and pushed himself along its gentle hills. There were lots of people around, some taking naps in the grass, others playing hacky sack, others playing frisbee. Dirk glanced around from behind his shades, making sure not to miss a bit of his surroundings, when he saw something strange rise up into the sky. It looked kind of like a big disc, maybe three times larger than a frisbee, and was losing altitude as its trajectory became more horizontal and curved off to the side.

Just as he was calculating whether he’d be able to catch it (it looked like it was capable of inflicting not unsubstantial damage to say, a human head) a rope shot out from behind one of the mounds of the park and caught the object. It hit the ground with an aluminum thud just as he had passed the mound enough to see who had caught the thing, which he now saw to be a trashcan lid with some thin dowels sticking out of its sides.

“Nice one, AJ!!!!” a voice rang out from the distance.

Oh my god.

He recognized it instantly. It was Dash, and he soon recognized that the girl who had caught the lid (“AJ,” apparently) was the blonde, southern girl from the café get-together.

Dirk could not have asked for a better opportunity than this. You don’t often run into a situation where it’s socially appropriate, if not socially mandated, that you walk up to some strangers and say ‘hey, what the hell are you guys doing?’

AJ held up her hand as Dash ran a high-five into it. This gave Dirk enough time to approach the roped contraption and wait for an opportunity to comment.

The two turned around and saw him staring down at it.

“I hear that these doweled trashcan lids have been a real problem lately. As a concerned citizen I’d like to thank you in your heroic efforts in thwarting this one.”

“Oh! Uhh..” AJ started.

“Really though, what are you guys doing?” he asked.

“Rodeo practice!!!” Dash chirped.

Dirk silently accepted that the first words ever uttered by his crush directly to him were and would forever remain “Rodeo Practice!!!”

“For all the rodeos?” Dirk made sure his skepticism showed, lest he be forced to ask whether there were actually rodeos around here.

“You bet!” AJ said, with a kind of sincerity that made Dirk feel a bit self-conscious. “The next one’s comin’ up in ‘bout two weeks. Can’t let myself get all rusty!”

“Yeah!!” said Dash, who had picked up the trashcan lid and uncoupled the rope from it. “You ready for a another go?”

“I sure am!!”

AJ ran about fifty feet into the middle of the park, and Dash hurled the trashcan lid into the air toward her. Dirk watched as it rose and fell, maintaining a good spin and not slowing too much. He had to admit that it was pretty impressive. AJ swung her rope around a few times, and landed it perfectly. The lid fell to the ground with another metallic thud.

“Woooo!” Dash shouted. “Pretty impressive, huh?” Dash turned and asked Dirk.

Oh my god he has purple eyes. “I suppose. Although-- not sayin that I’m an expert on the topic of rodeos, here-- but is she practicing for the winged calf subdivision? I’m from down south- where basically everything is a rodeo, including school, breakfast, and cars-- and can say I’ve never seen any hooved rope fodder move like that before.”

Dash rolled his eyes. “Geez, give us a break, would ya? The vet school only lets her practice on their cattle once a month, and that’s waaaaay too little to maintain. You gotta maintain, bro!”

“True,” said Dirk, not able to refute Dash’s point. AJ wandered back over with the trashcan lid.

“So what’s yer story, kid? Don’t think I didn’t notice the toucha’ southern twang in yer voice.” AJ smiled at Dirk. She was surprisingly disarming.

“You’ve got a good ear—I’m from Houston. I go to school here though.” Dirk tilted his head toward campus to indicate which school he meant.

“Ye’ don’t say! Why two ‘a our friends go here too. Ya’ll’s gotta be pretty smart to get in, I recon!”

He knew Twilight went to his school. The other friend _must_ be the shy girl.

“Nah. Instead of applying I just did a sick grind off the dean’s desk with my skatesword here,” he said, kicking it up into his hand, “and he was so awed that I earned his undying respect instantly. He printed me off a student ID right on the spot—all callin’ his secretary in like ‘Brenda please have this laminated immediately.’”

“OH my god that is SO. SWEEET.” Dash was indicating the skatesword itself, not Dirk’s ridiculous story. “Y’know, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you around? Like, I can’t imagine there’s THAT many kids out around here sporting bleach-blond hair and pointy anime shades.”

Dirk wasn’t necessarily surprised that Dash had possibly ‘seen him around,’ but the fact that he’d brought it up and admitted to it made him have feels.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you around too. Pretty hard to miss that Rainbow.”

“You gotta let people know who’s in charge!!” Dash said as he ran his hand through his rainbow locks.

Dirk melted a little. “Nice tat,” he said, nodding toward Dash’s arm. “I hear that arm tattoos are all the rage.” Dirk moved his arm out a little and looked down at the ironic piece of shit that adorned his own arm.

“That’s uh… really cool!!” said Dash, furrowing his brow and cringe-smiling, eyes fixated on the PoS arm art.

Dirk was a bit taken aback by this. Really, he’d been bracing himself for some sick ironic burns, and was pretty much baiting himself for it, but Dash seemed to be genuinely trying to be polite (and trying pretty hard judging from his piss poor job at hiding his feelings toward the tat at this particular moment.) Things were going a bit different than Dirk had been expecting, but it was a good direction.

“Hey, you mind if I give this a shot?” Dirk said, pointing at the rope in AJ’s hands.

“Well boy howdy! Now ye’ve got me all intrigued, partner. Be my guest.”

AJ handed Dirk the rope, and he ran to the middle of the park just as he had seen her do before.

“Are you ready??” Dash shouted, poised to throw the trashcan lid.

“As I’ll ever be!!!”

Dash and AJ looked at each other and smiled.

“Ooookaayy!!!!”

With one fluid, exaggerated motion, Dash flung the lid into the air. The angle was far lower and the speed much higher than the two times Dirk had seen him throw for AJ. So he did have some bite, Dirk thought.

The lid sped forward, and Dirk went for it—TWTHUNK. He grounded it with one lightning swoop of the rope.

Mouths agape, Dash and AJ looked at each other, and then looked back at Dirk. He picked up the lid and started to walk back toward them.

“Wheeew-yee! I was NOT expectin’ that!!” said AJ.

“Okay. That was LEGIT awesome.” Dash said, raising his hand to high-five o’clock. Dirk accepted his reward and savored the sting it left on his fingertips.

“It’s good to see that I still have it in me. Comes with the southern blood, I guess.” He winked at AJ, even though she couldn’t see it. She smiled back.

“Ping ping ping----!” Someone’s phone had started chiming. Dash retrieved his phone from his back pocket and looked at the screen.

“Oh CRAP. AJ, it’s like, 4:30. We’re super late!!!”

“Are you serious?! Time flies when yer havin’ fun I guess.” She turned to Dirk. “Listen sugar cube- it was great meetin’ ya, but we’ve gotta go… OH! The name’s AJ, by the way!” she held out her hand Dirk shook it. It was firm and proud—he expected nothing less from a fellow southerner.

“Dirk.”

“It was great meetin’ ya Dirk! My name’s Dash!” Dash held out a fist and they brobumped. “We should totally do this again someday!!” The two were already walking away.

“Yeah, see ya around,” said Dirk, doing that weird, two-fingered salute wave that some people think is cool. He kicked his skatesword back into his hand and walked toward the pavement that ran through the park. He slid it back to the ground and skated off in the opposite direction Dash and AJ had gone.


	6. Natch

After he’d returned to his apartment, Dirk recounted his encounter to Roxy. Going through the details like this helped him sort things out and plan for whatever might come next.

\---//---

TT: After that, they left, and I skated away into the fucking sunset like a champ. Did a sick grind off of a statue.

TG: thats great!!

TG: but wait tho, ur sayin they just left, and u just rolloled away rite so

TG: like im missin the part where u got his phone number and called 4 a follow up date? like u saw he had a phn rite u coulda been all ‘say you got digits 4 that thing?? *wonk*’

TT: These things take time Roxy. These days, you can’t just ask for someone’s phone number. You have to make them want to give it to you.

TG: leik srsly dirk???

TG: like u do and say the creepiest shit somtimes

TT: Seriously?

TG: liek u’ve bascilly been STALKING this kid for weeks

TG: and now ur all ‘im gonna make him want me’

TT: I’ll admit I could have worded that better, but I still stand by my methods.

TT: It’s best to let these things happen naturally. I’ll run into him again, and it’ll be just like any shitty romcom. “Hey funny runnin’ into you again,” “Well I mean we live in the same city…” “Oh I guess that’s true huh.”

TT: After a few moments of awkward silence we each blurt out “Hey, you wanna grab a coffee?” in unison, and then simultaneously and enthusiastically giggle out a “Yeah sure.”

TG: wow

TT: This is just how it works, Rox.

TG: okay well im totes for natch love blossomin

TG: but im still p skeptipcal about this “”natch”” love happenin from a series of carfuelly orchestrated stlaking events, y’kno?

TG: also, speakin of teh natural and unforced progressin of this endevor

TG: do u even kno if hes gay yet :|

TT: You know how I feel about cornering people into that label.

TG: wow says mr stider mcstudmuffin mclikesonlydudes

TG: whos turned down leik

TG: a million bajillion girlz

TG: urs truly included

\---

Roxy almost never brought that up, but he felt kind of shitty whenever she did.

\---

TT: Well, if I’d been propositioned by “a million bajillion boyz” I’m sure I would have turned down plenty of boyz too.

TG: *rolllllz eyes*

TG: roxy rolls a perfect 20 w her eyeroll

TG: and reveals strider as being actually super legit gay

TT: Well, you’re free to keep thinking that. My point is that I don’t foresee it being an issue.

TG: yea sure

TG: well gl w that

TT: Thanks.

Dirk waited a few minutes for some more snark from Roxy, because she usually brought up good points.

\---

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT]

\----

Huh.

Dirk considered his position.

Just because things didn’t work out with Jake didn’t mean it would be the same with Dash.

The biggest problem with Jake was that he kind of just went along with anything without giving it much forethought. Then, when he found himself in a less-than-ideal situation, he was too polite to actively back out of it. Dirk realized, somewhat after the fact, that he could get a little overzealous at times, and that this had made it even harder for Jake to speak up.

In the end, these factors had caused the death of their relationship to be dragged out into a slow, angsty, I’m-going-to-move-away-to-forget-all-this kind of deal. He hadn’t spoken to Jake since leaving, and had a hard time talking to Jane from the very start. They’d had a brief conversation around the time when the relationship ended where she revealed that Jake had been confiding in her all the doubts he’d been having, which was another punch to the face. Not only had Jake been talking to _other_ people about it, but it had put Jane in a really shitty position too-- she had to watch her crush get snatched up by someone, _and_ hear about it in excruciating detail. Excruciating was her word, by the way, and Dirk wasn’t really sure how to interact with her after that.

Roxy still talked to the both of them, though, and he was able to get news through her, and that was fine.

 

Shhh, no dwelling.

 

Only moving on now.


	7. Chapter 7

Dirk had looked into it, and apparently, there _was_ a rodeo held once a year by his own school’s “Cowboy Collaboration Council.” He was kind of surprised he hadn’t been aware of it up until now, because horses. It looked like anyone was free to enter, but that the deadline had already passed. He could still go watch, though, and thus planned his next encounter.

Who else would be there? AJ most certainly. Maybe the shy girl, too? He went over conversations in his head. Practiced. Prepared. He became engrossed in the possibilities. Dirk of course was not a machine, and eventually decided to take a break. Talking to yourself from the perspective of other people who you didn’t really know could get tiring after a while. He’d go run some errands.

Dirk grabbed his Smuppets™ backpack, and headed out the door.

Walking. Thinking. He could get groceries at the close grocery store, but they didn’t carry the flavor of IRONIC IONIC SPORTS WA-TWO-O that he liked, so he should go to the other, farther away store. The one that also happened to be closer to the vocational school. Pure coincidence.

...

Dirk arrived at the store without incident, and made his way slowly through the aisles. Mango-tango ironic ion water, ramen noodles, pocky, fake Korean pocky, oranges, orange juice, apple juice, cRiTiCaL mAsS protein bars, gushers… Some of these items were his usual staples, others were picked up for their ironic value. Actually, many of his current staples had initially started as ironic finds, but slowly worked their way into his normal routine. Dirk Strider subsisted on pure irony.

He smirked as he tossed a package of organic, gluten-free cookies into his basket because they had the words “HORSE KNOLL” at the top and were advertised by a gorgeous stallion that was proudly poised atop a grassy knoll. Shit was totes natch.

He wandered a bit more, but didn’t find anything else of interest. He stopped in front of the magazines for a bit and pretended to look at the covers. He went back to the canned food isle and picked up some cans and pretended to read the labels. He went to the candy section and took some M&M’s that had been placed in front of some Skittles and put them back with the other M&M’s.

He got in the longest line he could find, and pretended to look at his phone. He paid for his groceries, loaded them into the plush crevices of his backpack, and headed home.


	8. Digits

It was the day before the rodeo, and Dirk hadn’t seen Dash at all since witnessing the makeshift practice session in the park. He had wanted to take it easy and not force anything, but was really starting to regret not asking for his number.

All of Dirk’s classes were done for the day, and he headed off to the skate shop near Main Street to replace one of the wheels on his skatesword, which he had snapped off by doing a sick stunt off the side of a moving delivery truck. He’d done it on a bet, but now had to spend the money he’d made fixing his board. Totes worth it.

He was in and out fairly quick, and was just about to test out his new ride when heard someone call out from behind him:

“Hey cool kid!!!”

Before he could turn around, a hand slapped him on the shoulder. He already knew who it was.

“Cool kid?” he turned and faced Dash.

“Okay. I totally forgot your name, and am REALLY sorry, but I’m glad I ran into you!”

“Dirk.”

“Dirk! Cool. Diiiiiirrrk. Got it. Totally committed to memory now.”

“Yeah thanks. So you were saying?”

“Oh! Yeah! I’m glad I ran into you, because we totally didn’t get each other’s contact info the other day!! How dumb is that? Me and AJ were talking about how it’d be great to have another person to practice with, but then we didn’t know how to find you!”

“Well that’s a darn shame, cuz her skillz woulda been hella polished by now.”

“I mean, they already are hella polished, but you can never have too much practice.”

“The rodeo’s tomorrow, right? Is she ready? Like, is she _pumped_?”

“Dude she is pumped UP!” Dash punched the air in front of him, synching either fist with the words “pumped” and “up.”

So adorable.

“Was she planning on any more last minute practice? It’s not that I ain’t got hella stuff on my own plate, but I’m pretty sure I could arrange my schedule for the sake of some good ol’ wholesome southern brand fun.”

Dash suddenly looked around, as if to make sure no one was watching. He leaned in and whispered to Dirk. “How hardcore are you bro?”

“I snapped the wheel of my skatesword doing a sick grind off of a delivery truck,” he whispered back.

Dash squinted a little. It looked like he was thinking about something really hard. “You know where the vet school is? Like where they keep all the cows?”

“Yeah.”

Dash looked around again, and whispered even lower, “Meet us there. Tonight. 9pm.”

If Dirk blushed, he’d be blushing. Shit. Was he blushing? Fuck. “Yeah alright,” he said, cool as ever.

“Sweet.” Dash backed up, hopped on his skateboard, and started to skate away. “9 pm!!!” he shouted when he’d gone about 10 feet.

Dirk watched as Dash skated away. Dirk continued to watch as Dash stopped halfway down the block, turned around, and came back, and screeched to a halt in front of him.

“Dude I forgot to give you my number!”

Dirk, worried that his smirk might have been visible to the outside world, pulled out his phone as Dash recited his digits. He texted Dash a simple “yo.” Now they had each other’s numbers.

“9 pm,” Dirk confirmed. Dash smiled and skated off again.


	9. FYI

Dirk returned home from his encounter to find a message on his computer from Roxy.

\----

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT]

TG: yo strider

TG: yo stiiiiiiidddeeerrrr

TG: yo

TG: hey

TG: pow

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT]

\----

Why didn’t she just message his phone?

\----

timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG]

TT: You know if it’s urgent you’re always free to text me.

TG: naw shit aint urgent haha i jus like blowin up ur screen w my pink bb gum txt

TG: giv u a thing to look forward to atfer ur all tuckered out from a big day o stalkin

TT: It’s a small town, Rox. Ain’t no dude’s business if a fateful meeting should coincidentally occur between two habitants.

TT: Like the romcom shit that went down today.

TG: OMG

TT: You’ll be glad to hear that I’ve climbed my echeladder to Cellular Cadet.

TG: ur gonna have 2 spell that out 4 me

TT: I got his number.

TT: Also, we made plans.

TG: theys better be smoochin plans

TT: I have a feeling that it’s not that, but will still be in instrumental step in that direction.

TG: natch ;)

TT: As natural as a majestic stallion enjoying an afternoon trot along a grassy knoll.

TG: and as natch as a mans love 4 that stallion

TT: Anyway, we’re meeting later tonight, so I think I’m going to go take a shower before I head out.

TG: wait!!!!

TG: theere WAS somthin i was gonna tell u

TG: im gonna come visit next weekend :x

TT: As in you have made the executive decision to do so and I have no say?

TG: i was drunk and boked plane tix

TT: Roxy…

TG: i knooooo im srrry

TG: but itll b graet I promise!

TT: I really wish you would have asked first, if not for any other reason than the high demands that are placed on my time. For all you know I could have already agreed to help the bioscience faculty ninja-blitzkrieg a hoard of inadvertently created zombie apes that weekend. Top secret, really dark shit.

TG: bullllshit all u’ve been doin is stalkin taht boy

TT: I’ll see you next weekend then.

TG: :D

TG: gl 2nite *waggles eyebows suggestively*

TT: The eyebows’ suggestions will be taken into account.

TG: ;)

timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG]

\----

Dirk proceeded to take one of his legendarily long showers, which gave him plenty of time to go through the mental play-by-plays of what might transpire later that night.


	10. A Symphony of Musculature Played by the Light of the Moon

I was a little before 9pm, and Dirk was almost to the large, open stable where the vet school’s cattle were kept. It was located in field, and somewhat removed from the main facilities of the school. Sunset was hours ago, and everything was cloaked in the dark of night.

It was pretty obvious what they were going to do.

While sneaking into a barn and harassing some heifers wouldn’t usually fall under Dirk’s list of Fun Things to do on a Friday Night, and was even a little juvenile for his tastes, he was excited to see how Dash handled adventure.

He realized that Dash hadn’t been very specific on the exact meeting spot, and was just about to get out his phone when he spotted something in the distance. His phone vibrated with a text: “hey i think i see you.”

He raised his hand up to the figures in the distance and saw a hand go up in response. It looked like they were being pretty covert about this. He quietly made his way over, and saw that there were three people in the group: AJ, Dash, and Pinky.

“Glad you could make it!” Dash whispered.

“Real glad Dash was able to find ya’,” AJ smiled.

“Oh- this is Pinky! She’s gonna be our lookout tonight.” Dash said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Pleased to meetcha!!!” said Pinky, in an objectively loud voice.

“SHHHHHH” the other two hissed in unison.

“Dirk. Nice to meet you.” Dirk and Pinky shook hands, and Dash proceeded to explain the plan. Pinky would be on lookout duty while the three of them would head to the stable. AJ would find a horse, and Dash would grab a calf to practice on. There was a fenced-in area right behind the stable that they could use without risking the calf escaping into the night. Dirk would be on hand to assist with either animal, and also coach and offer advice to AJ as he saw fit.

“Everybody got it?” Dash looked around intently.

The others replied in an enthusiastic whisper, “Got it!” They headed over to the stable, leaving Pinky to watch for any “Fun wreckers.”

“I’ll tell ya’, I was kickin’ myself when I realized that neither of us got your number!” AJ started.

“We asked our other friends if they’d seen you around campus, but “pointy anime shades dude” didn’t ring a bell with either of them,” Dash laughed out. “I guess the campus is pretty huge?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty big.” Dirk was thinking about he hadn’t seen them either.

They reached the stable and tried the front gate, which was of course locked. The windows were closed off with fencing, but there was a small decorative opening above the gate about ten feet off the ground.

“Hey, could I get a boost?” Dash said to Dirk, indicating the opening with his head.

“You got it,” said Dirk as he kneeled in front of the gate and laced his fingers into a stepping platform. Dash stepped into Dirk’s hand and steadied himself on his shoulder. Dirk could feel the warmth of Dash’s fingertips as they pressed into his skin. He’d never been more pleased with his decision to wear a wife-beater than right now. He raised Dash up to the opening, a bit surprised at how light he was-- It was kind of hard to tell under all the baggy jerseys and athletic shorts. Dash grabbed onto the sill, artfully turned around, and lowered himself from the other side. Landing with a thud, he unlocked and opened the gate.

“We’re in!” he whispered with a huge grin. The expression didn’t have a hint of irony in it, and Dirk found this fascinating. Fascinatingly cute.

AJ went to the back and opened the gate to the field. The horse stable was accessible from there, so she went on ahead to collect the horse. Dirk stayed behind with Dash as he peered in at the cattle, searching for an appropriate calf.

“Oh! This one’s awake!” Dash said as he opened one of the enclosures. He reached into his pocket and held his hand back out to the calf, who cautiously approached him. He backed up a few steps at a time until the calf followed him out.

“Calf pellets!” Dash said to Dirk, answering his inquisitive look.

They lead the calf to the field, where AJ was already waiting atop a majestic, muscular black stallion that glistened in the light of the moon. Dirk removed his shades to get a better look.

“Ha! Holy crap! I didn’t think those things came off,” exclaimed Dash. Dirk shot Dash a glance of what he hoped wasn’t too obviously “acute embarrassment and surprise,” making eye contact for more seconds than was comfortable.

“Yeah well not everyone is equipped to handle the Strider glance,” he closed his eyes and smirked. “Most people wear shades to protect themselves from the outside- for me it’s the other way around.”

“The _Strider glance_?”

“Oh. Uh… my last name Is Strider.”

Dammit dammit dammit.

“Haha, gotcha,” Dash laughed. “Can I see’em for a second?”

Dirk handed his shades over to Dash, completely keeping his cool and 100% assured that he looked totally composed. Like, no one would notice in the dark anyway. Right. Yeah. Cool.

“Whoa dude, how can you even _see_ in these??” Dash said as he looked, finally settling on the moon.

“You get used to it.”

Dash got out his phone and snapped a quick selfie before returning the shades to Dirk. “I can send you a signed print of that later if you want,” Dash winked. Dirk (with total composure of course) scrambled to get his shades back on. What did that even mean fuck he winked how do I respond to—

AJ rode up on the horse. “Are we just gonna stand around all night or we gonna do this?” she asked.

“Haha, sorry! We just wanted to make sure you were ready.”

“Ready as ever!”

“Alright then!” Dash said raising his hand up and SMACK. He slapped the calf on the rump and it took off running. AJ took off after it on the horse, landed the rope around its neck, jumped off the horse, and tied its feet. This all took less than 12 seconds. Dash and Dirk walked over to AJ.

“That was good,” Dirk started, “but you almost tripped the calf on the snare. Don’t pull back so tight next time.”

“Ye’ got a good set of eyes on ye’,” AJ said. “I felt it too, but thanks for the feedback.”

Dirk removed the rope from the calf, righted it, and gave it a pat on the head. “You got any more of those pellets?” he asked Dash.

“Oh! Yeah.” Dash reached into his pocket and offered some to the calf. It cautiously accepted them. After the calf calmed down a bit, they decided to go for another go.

SMACK. The calf took off running. AJ landed it again, taking a little less time than before. Dirk wondered if he might be able to have a go as well. Riding atop that majestic, toned specimen in the dead of night, moonlight playing off the both of them in a glorious symphony of glistening musculature. He’d ask if he could have a turn at it. AJ had just completed the tie, when a voice rang out from the stable.

“OH MY GOODNESS!!!”

It sounded angry, like it was trying to be loud but wasn’t quite sure how. “I cannot believe this!” The figure approached the three of them, and Dirk recognized it as the quiet pink haired girl.

“S-Shy!!” AJ Stammered out. Dash didn’t say anything, but all the color had drained from his face as he watched her come up to them.

“Twilight told me what you guys were doing!! I didn’t want to believe it, but I had to know. I’m just…” she covered her face and mumbled into her hands, “…so angry!!!”

“C’mon Shy!! Ain’t no harm done! Here—we’ll put the animals back and be done with it.” AJ said as she righted the calf and draped her arm over it.

“Do you _know_ how much trouble you could get in for this? And you guys _know_ how I feel about all this rodeo stuff. And these animals aren’t even rodeo animals! They belong to the vet school and are here to lead happy, relaxing lives.” Shy was starting to tear up.

“Shy, I—“ Dash started.

“And you! I can’t believe you helped with this!” Shy said as she shot an intense glance at Dash, who immediately shut up and looked at the ground. After a few seconds of silence, Shy spoke up again. “Listen. I’m not going to tell anyone this happened. We’ll put the animals back, and put this behind us.”

“Deal.” Said AJ. She walked the horse back to its stable, and Shy lead the calf back to the other enclosure. Dirk and Dash followed about ten feet behind, an air of Ultimate Awkward Silence permeating the space around them. They exited the front of the main stable, and waited for AJ to come out. Shy locked the front door and walked back toward the campus. They came across Pinky, right where they had left her, who was lying in the grass on her back listening to music on her phone. Dash kicked her, and she let out a loud “OWWWWwwwwwwooohhhhh.” which dwindled at the end when she saw Shy standing there with them. She got up and pulled out her headphones.

“H, hey Shy!!” she smiled awkwardly. Shy just shot her an angry glance.

“So, uh. We’re gonna go then.” Dash said to Shy, who didn’t react. He stood there for a second, as if thinking, then stepped in front of her. He placed his arms around her back, gave her a quick hug and said, “I’m really sorry,” in a low voice. She didn’t budge—she kept her arms crossed and stared intently at the ground. Dash let go and said “Alright then. See you around.” His voice was wavering and weak.

Shy started off alone toward what Dirk assumed to be the dorms closest to the vet school. She had a flashlight with her, and paced herself at a hurried trot. She was the one that didn’t like the dark.

Dirk walked with Pinky, AJ, and Dash in the direction of his campus/apartment/the vocational school. Ultimate Awkward Silence O’clock continued for a few more minutes.

“Sorry to get ya’ roped into this mess,” AJ said suddenly, breaking the silence. She was looking at Dirk.

“Don’t worry about it. From the looks of things, I got off pretty easy…” he looked at Dash. Dash looked dejected.

“Oh, and thanks for the five-star lookout job, Pinky,” AJ said as she shoved Pinky in the shoulder.

“I’m sooooorrryyyy!!! It was just sooo boring!! I only shut my eyes for like a minute.”

Dash shoved Pinky in the shoulder too.

Man this was awkward.

“Well, my apartment’s this way, so I guess I’ll see you guys around,” Dirk said after another good ten minutes of awkward silence.

“You’ll come to the rodeo tomorrow, won’t ya’?” AJ asked.

“I guess I’ll see you guys there then.”

“Hey! Uh,” Dash started. “Sorry about all this, and thanks again for comin’ out. I promise things will be way more awesome next time.” Dirk raised an eyebrow. “I mean the next time we hang out! Not the next time we trespass onto school grounds and mess with livestock.” Dash scrunched his eyes shut and was rubbing his forehead.

“Gotcha.” Dirk smiled. He branched off toward his apartment, and waved goodbye.


	11. The Rodeo

The next day, Dirk made his way to the rodeo. It was held in a small open arena that hosted events like fairs, dirt-bike racing, and, well, rodeos. The ground was bare dirt, and the seating consisted of dingy old plastic benches. There were a lot of people, and even more open seats. He was hoping that he’d just run into Dash, not wanting to text a needy “Hey where you at.”

Luckily-- or rather because rainbow hair-- he spotted him fairly quickly. Sitting in the front row, Dash looked up and saw Dirk as well, and he stood up to beckon him over.

“Hey, you made it!” Dash smiled.

“Wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Dirk said indicating the arena with a nod of his head (but was really talking about seeing Dash again.) He was happy that Dash seemed in higher spirits after the drama that had transpired the night before.

They were just about to sit down when Dash looked past Dirk.

“Oh! There’s another one of my friends!” he said, waving down a sharply dressed girl with long, wavy, purple hair. Dirk had only seen her once before in the café—she was the one with the weird, possibly British accent. As she approached, it became apparent that she was upset about something, and when she finally got close enough, she confronted Dash.

“Dash! I heard what you and AJ did last night. Shy was a mess! Juvenile delinquency aside, you really need to be more considerate of her feelings. You know she cares for those animals on a daily basis, and--”

“Yeah, yeah, I know already!” Dash interjected.

“Do you? She called me at midnight last night to--“

“Just can it, Rarity!!” Dash squeaked out.

“My word!” Rarity appeared to be genuinely stunned at the outburst.

“I… I’m sorry,” Dash said dejectedly as he looked at the ground and rubbed the heel of his shoe into the dirt. “But can we please just drop it already?”

“…Very well then.” Rarity sighed. Dirk was standing next to her, and to preemptively break the awkward silence that was about to ensue, he held out his hand.

“Dirk. I’m friends with Dash.”

“Oh goodness, where are my manners!!” said Rarity, flustered. “So sorry you had to see that. Rarity.” She gave a small curtsy as she shook Dirks hand. “How did the two of you meet?”

Dirk paused for a moment as his mind fast forwarded to the point where he had _actually_ met Dash.

“He saw me and AJ practicing in the park one day and joined in,” Dash answered for him.

“Oh!” Rarity said. “So you must have been the ‘weird pointy anime sunglasses’ kid that Shy mentioned…” Dash shot Rarity a glance.

“There is maths possibility that that is the case,” said Dirk, trying to keep things lighthearted.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Quite.”

The three sat down, in what was now apparent as 100% inevitable awkward silence. Dirk chose to look around the arena, catching glances of the majestic horses that had been subject to extensive and intense training to tone their eager bodies for this very day.

“Hey guys!” a voice broke the silence.

“Twilight! It’s been forever,” Rarity smiled.

“Dash?” Twilight peaked over, smiling.

“Hey twilight,” Dash said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Real smooth move tellin’ Shy about our plans.”

Twilight sighed. “It was my duty as a friend to tell her, Dash. I told you it was a bad idea!”

“Hmph.”

Dirk had given up on the idea of avoiding more awkward silence with a self introduction, and just kept staring out at the horses.

“Oh, uh, this is my friend Dirk,” Dash said after a few seconds, lazily pointing at Dirk with his thumb, still staring at the ground.

“Pleased to meet you,” Twilight smiled. She paused a bit, then said, “Oh wait! _You’re_ the pointy anime shades kid that Dash and AJ told me about! You go to this school right? What are you studying?

“Mechanical engineering,” Dirk answered, a bit weirded out about the sheer amount of excitement in her voice when she said the word ‘studying.’

“Wow! I’m studying history, literature, science… working toward a triple major!”

Can you even do triple majors at this school??

“HEY GUYS!!” Their conversation was cut short by Pinky, who has walked up with an unbelievable amount of concessions. Dirk was confused as to how she was physically holding everything without dropping it. “WHO WANTS SODAS???”

Dirk figured it was okay for him to accept a soda, since she was carrying ten of them. As the others lightened Pinky’s hoard of snacks, one of her hands became free to shove handful after handful of cotton candy down her mouth. Incredible. Also, ew.

SCREEEEAAACCHHHH. Microphone feedback rang through the area.

“YEEEHAW sorry about that folks!! We’d just like to to welcome ya’ll to the 23rd annual Cowboy Collaboration Council ROOOODEEEEOOOOOO,” an announcer called out. “Now enough with the for-malities! Let’s get this show on the ROOOOOOAD.” As he trailed off, a cowboy in the middle of the arena shot a blank into the air, starting the elaborate riding show that made up the opening ceremony.

The only event AJ was participating in was the calf rope, which was the second-to-last event. To pass the time, Twilight had brought a book, and Rarity some knitting, and Pinky was just kind of bouncing in her seat and looking at everything except the rodeo, but sometimes also at the rodeo? It was like she was looking _through_ the rodeo. Dash however seemed to be quite into it, cheering and yelling and throwing his fist into the air, even standing up at the more tense moments.

Dirk liked a boy that could enjoy a good rodeo.

The calf rope came and went, AJ placing a very close second. Dirk thought he might go deaf from all the cheering that Dash and the others did, but found it kind of heartwarming nonetheless. Dirk had sort of forgotten what it was like to actually be surrounded by friendship. It was almost like… magic.

After the bull-riding competition, the rodeo finished up with another elaborate display of rugged, attractive men riding around equally rugged and attractive horses. All in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty good day for Dirk.

A little bit after the closing ceremony, AJ came over with her trophy, and the others congratulated her on the achievement. “Somethin’ to work toward for next year I guess,” she said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

“Lighten up, AJ!!” said Dash, slapping her on the back. “You were _awesome_.”

“Yeah, I guess…” she sighed. “Well, who’s up for some supper?? I’m famished!”

“MEEEEE!!!” Pinky shrieked out.

After a bit of deliberation, and amazingly no awkward silences, they decided on the campus-run pizza place that was only a few minutes’ walk from the arena. Over dinner, Dirk, AJ, and Dash recounted their favorite parts of the rodeo while the others were forced to become acquainted with rodeo terminology through conversational osmosis. As the chatter died down, Twilight looked down at her watch.

“Well, this was really fun today, guys! But I have to get going to my study group.”

“Yeah, I s’pose it’s that time. I’m pretty pooped myself, I think I’ll just head home and sleep ‘til noon tomorrow,” AJ said, stretching back in her chair. “Thank ya’ll again for comin’ out and seein’ me!”

“Don’t mention it!” Rarity smiled. “Oh, and before you all go, remember that my party is next weekend!” She looked around the table for the nods of confirmation from her friends, when her eyes landed on Dirk. “Oh! Erm, you can come too! I suppose.”

“Heh, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot by bein’ here,” he answered, trying to alleviate her apparent embarrassment.

“Oh, no! It’s fine. You are formally invited to my very lavish and very posh party.”

“Good, ‘cuz I’m all about posh.”

Dash snickered at Dirk’s comment.

“Well alright then. I’ll see you all next week,” she said, still a little embarrassed but with enough authority to make everyone rise from the table to head their separate ways.

They exited the building, and Twilight and Rarity headed out with a quick wave. Pinky, who had somehow been able to eat an entire sundae after dinner, which she had also covered with the remainder of her cotton candy, exclaimed that she had ‘EATEN WAY TOO MUCH SUGAR TODAY” and had to “RUN FOREVER’ and promptly dashed off into the distance.

AJ, Dash, and Dirk lingered near the doorway.

“Sorry again about last night, Dirk,” AJ smiled. “And thanks again for your help.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Whelp, I guess I’d better get a move on,” she said.

“Drive safe!!” said Dash.

“Will do!” she waved and walked back toward the arena.

Dirk and Dash started off toward campus. Much like before, he tried to mitigate the silence.

“Does AJ have a car?” Dirk asked.

“Motorcycle!!!” She works on a farm that’s about fifteen miles west of here. Some sort of internship I guess?”

“Huh.”

“Yeah... I guess you really didn’t talk to my other friends, huh? Lessee… Twilight goes to your school, and as you probably noticed is a total book nerd.”

“I did note that.”

“Rarity is balls to the wall rich from some clothing line she designed, and still lives here for some reason. Maybe because her family is here? I dunno I guess.”

“Why does she have that accent?”

“I think she’s faking it.”

“Huh.”

“Aaaand… Pinky goes to my school and studies the “culinary arts,” Dash said, emphasizing ‘culinary’ and ‘arts’ to make it sound fancy or something.

Dirk already knew, but asked anyway, “So how did you all meet?”

“Oh, we all went to the same high school. ‘Equestria High,’” Dash snickered out. “Isn’t that a dumb name for a school?”

“I dunno… Sounds kinda majestic to me.”

“Pfft.”

More silence.

Dash didn’t look like he was about to say anything about Shy, and although Dirk didn’t really want to cue any more awkwardness, he wanted to know more. “So what about the girl from last night?”

Dash’s pace dropped a bit. “Shy?”

“Yeah, I think that was her name.”

Dash sighed a little before starting, “She’s friends with all of us too, and is studying to be a vet at your school…” Dash trailed off, and seemed to be thinking. “She really loves animals, and didn’t come today because she thinks rodeos are ‘barbaric’ or something.”

“…”

“She and I grew up together, actually. She was always really, well, SHY, and I guess I was more outgoing? I think we balanced each other out pretty well…” Dash had stopped walking, and appeared again to be thinking.

“Are you okay?” Dirk asked, kind of regretting bringing it up.

“Yeah… I…” he paused for a bit. “You know what. I’m gonna go apologize to her.” Dash looked up at Dirk. “Sorry to just ditch you, but I’m gonna head back this way to her dorm.” He pointed back the way they had just came with his thumb.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dirk smiled. “Good luck.”

Dash smiled back, waved goodbye, and set off in the other direction.


	12. Mountain Dew- Asian Mist

Dirk considered the things he knew about Shy and Dash’s relationship. He thought about the way Dash acted toward her. Maybe it was par for the course for childhood friends, or maybe it was something else. He’d described what he had heard and seen to Roxy, and her opinion was 'dude he’s totes into her ;(' but that he 'shond't giv up yet' but that he also needs to 'jus fuckin ask if he likes dudes already.'

He was a little anxious about the fact that Roxy would be visiting this weekend and thus would be in attendance at Rarity's party. Dash would most certainly be there, and Roxy had a tendency to go rogue and take things into her own hands when she got impatient from watching her friends wallow in inaction. Still, she always meant well, and it would be good to get a fresh set of eyes on the situation.

Continuing to ponder the Shy//Dash dynamic, Dirk wondered if Dash's apology had gone over well (it had been a few days), and tried to think of a natural way to bring it up. It'd be weird to just call or text about just that, so he'd have to think of a reason to hang out, and hope that it came up in conversation.

He held his phone in his hand, trying to think of something. Skateboard together? Weather was too shitty. Study together? Study what together? Go out and grab some grub? That was too much like asking him on a date.

But what was wrong with that?

“You wanna grab some food later at that new Asian fusion buffet?” he texted him.

Minutes of silence. Excruciating.

Suddenly, his phone beeped: “Haha gross”

Another beep: “Totally!”

Oh?

Another beep: “What time?”

Um. “How about 6:30?”

Beep: “Sounds cool dude see you there!!”

Okay cool. Dinner at the A-Fu Buffet. Excellent.

Dirk showed up at 6:30 on the dot, not wanting to seem too eager by getting there early, and not too douchey by arriving late. Dash arrived a few minutes later.

“Hey dude!”

“Hey.”

“Shoulda figured you'd be into this kinda thing,” Dash said, looking at the tacky signage that was dotted with random Chinese characters.

“What, you don't like the taste of irony?” Dirk said as he opened the door for Dash. Dash rolled his eyes as he walked in past him.

They paid the entrance fee, each got a wrist band (seriously?), and found a place to sit before grabbing their plates, which they filled with a disgusting amount of really questionable food.

Dash talked about his day at class and how they learned about vitamins and how it was stupid that “there are like 12 B ones when they still have the rest of the alphabet they coulda used.” Dirk talked about an AI program he was writing that worked kind of like Chatbot, but would only respond with irony. They both talked about skateboarding, and discussed the best spots in the city get “mad air” and perform “sick grinds.” The conversation was going well, and Dash seemed to be enjoying himself.

They had been sitting by a large bay window, and each of them glanced out it now and then to watch people as they walked by. Dash was doing just that when a look of surprise came over his face.

“Oh shit!” Dash said as he picked up a menu and hid his face behind it. Dirk looked outside and saw what he was hiding from- Shy. She had walked slowly by, and was now out of view.

“I think she's gone,” Dirk said, worrying a bit about being too presumptuous. Dash let out a sigh and put down the menu. “So how’d the apology go?” Dirk seized his opportunity.

Dash cringed, “Ugh… don’t ask.”

“Gotcha.”

“She just won’t stop being mad at me!!” Dash immediately blurted out. Dirk was silent. “I keep telling her I'm sorry, and she won't stop being mad. It sucks!”

“That sounds like it sucks.”

“Yeah, well. Whatever. She can do what she wants. I don't even care anymore.” Dash sounded like he still cared, but Dirk didn't want to prod too much. “I'm gonna go grab more food.”

Dash got up with a huff, and Dirk followed. Dash grabbed some gelatin cubes and sugar rolls, and Dirk grabbed some more crab rangoons because they had spelled it “crab ramcoons” on the sign. They sat back down.

"I told her I was sorry, I told her I felt bad, I don't know what else she wants!"

"Maybe she just needs a little time?"

"Hmpf."

Dirk shrugged and asked Dash if he wanted more soda. Dash nodded, and Dirk went and refilled their respective (and gross) drinks.

“Hey, uh, thanks for lettin' me vent a little,” Dash said after a little while.

“No problem. I hope with things work out.”

“Mmyeah.” Dash poked at a gelatin cube with his fork. “Well, thanks for inviting me out! This was fun. I don't really, uh, 'plan' stuff that much, so if you ever wanna hang again, just holla'!” Dash said as he made the “call me” motion with his hand.

“Will do,” Dirk said as he downed the last of his Mountain Dew Asian Mist. Finishing their food, full of grease and regret, they got up and exited the restaurant, and paused by the door.

“Oh-- you're coming to Rarity's party, right?” Dash asked.

“I did get an invite from the lady herself.”

“Okay, cool!” Dash said, looking genuinely excited. “Anyway, thanks again,” he said as he punched Dirk in the shoulder. “See ya this weekend then. Later, bro!” Dash waved and began to walk away.

“Later dude.”


	13. The Party

It was the night of Rarity’s party.

Roxy had arrived the previous day, and they hadn’t had any run-ins with Dash or anyone when Dirk showed her around campus and Main Street. He had eventually texted Dash, asking if he wanted to hang out and meet his friend, but Dash replied that he was busy and couldn’t make it. This was less than ideal, since Dirk knew it would be more difficult to buffer their initial meeting at the party, which would be an unfamiliar setting full of unfamiliar people. Dirk had learned after confirming the address with Dash that it was a party celebrating Rarity’s latest fashion line release, and was being attended by “like a hundred people.”

Dirk and Roxy arrived fashionably late, and were let in by what appeared to be smartly dressed bouncers.

There may not have been quite one hundred people there, but it wouldn’t have been a problem to fit that many into Rarity’s huge mansion of a house. It was made of brick, overlooked a lake, and had sizable banquet hall where the majority of the action seemed to be taking place. Amorphous groups of fashionable people were mingling about, giggling at little quips as they took care not to spill their martinis or accidentally stab someone with their shish kebab hors d'oeuvres. Dirk thought he saw Twilight off in the distance, but otherwise didn’t immediately see anyone he knew.

As the next logical course of action, Dirk looked for an appropriate spot from which he could observe the party, and keep a lookout for Dash. He was still a bit nervous about what sort of initiatives Roxy might take when they met, and was thinking of ways he might be able to steer the conversation should things get too out of hand. In the end, he was glad that she was here, and was looking forward to any insight she might be able to bring to the table.

“Yo, I’ma go get a drink—you want anything?” Roxy winked at Dirk.

“Nah. I’ll be he here.” He still didn’t see Dash, and figured Roxy wouldn’t be able to cause too much trouble on her own, and that it would be best to maintain his lookout.

“Alright then. Brb!”

\-----

Roxy walked over to the drink table, which was stocked with a variety of cute, colorful, premade drinks. She picked one with a pink umbrella and took a sip.

“Psh. This shit’s water,” she mumbled with disappointment before finishing the rest in one gulp.

She knew that Dirk would maintain his perch for a while, and needed something a little stronger if she was going to bro him through what was she anticipated would be a total snoozefest for like twenty minutes.

She looked around the room and saw a man holding a plate full of food emerge from a door. A man with champagne flutes followed.

She snuck into the door, and found herself in a long corridor with a brightly lit room at the end. She walked ahead, passed a few people who didn’t seem to care that she was there (phew!), and made it to Rarity’s large and lavish kitchen. She saw people putting together food and drinks, as well as some others that looked like party guests that had come in to escape the crowds.

She looked around, hoping to find a poorly guarded bottle of vodka, and spotted a breakfast-bar type fixture that was decorated with a variety of spirits and mixers, and also seemed to be separate from the prep area being used for the official party fare. A few people sat in the stools that lined counter, and were idly chatting with one another. That’s where she saw the rainbow haired boy.

Roxy knew immediately it was Dash (rainbow hair, plus Dirk had shown her the selfie Dash had snapped with his shades, which Dash had actually sent to him), and wondered what she should do.

He was alone, and appeared to be pouring himself a shot.

“Hey, you wanna pour a shot for a shorty??” Roxy asked as she slid into the stool next to Dash and grabbed an empty glass.

“Heh! Don’t mind if I do,” he said in seemingly high spirits, with apparently impaired judgment on the proper response to Roxy’s request. He poured the shot, they clinked shot glasses, and drank.

“Okay,” Roxy started. “So you don’t know me, and I don’t know you, BUT. I am an absolute friendship WIZARD, and we are gonna get to know each other superfast, and be BFFsies right now, with my totally original game called FIVE QUESTIONS.”

She was going to pump this kid for some INFO.

“That sounds really original!!” Dash snickered out. “How do we play?” He poured each of them another drink.

“I’ll ask five questions, and you’ll answer them! Then you ask me five, then etcetera!”

“Mind = Blown.”

Roxy stuck out her tongue. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Rainbow!”

“Favorite animal?”

“Turtle!”

“How tall are you?”

“Five foot nine!”

­­“Aaaaaaare you gay?”

Dash spit into the drink he had been sipping and choked a little. He wasn’t making eye contact with Roxy anymore, but appeared to be blushing.

Suddenly, he put his elbow next to the hand Roxy had rested on the countertop, leaned in close, looked her right in the eye and smiled, “Whyyyyyy do you wanna know?”

Hm. He was leaning in really close.

Like, UNCOMFORTABLY close.

Wait. Oh my god.

OH MY GOD.

“Oh! I, uh.. no reason! Haha!” Roxy stammered. “I was jus’ tryin to be funny, you know, ask the rainbow-haired kid “hey are you gay?” ha ha ha….” Internal facepalm combo times INFINITY. “But I uh actually gotta go find my friend!!! Brb!!!”

Roxy absconded from the kitchen to find Dirk.

\----

Dirk was still at his perch, observing the party.

“Dirk—we gotta talk like now. Like yesterday.” Roxy was tugging at his arm.

“Whoa, Rox, calm down. What’s up?”

“It’s about Dash…”

Dirk’s surprise showed through his shades. “What about hi-“

“Whaaaaaat about Dash?” Pinky had materialized from out of nowhere and cut Dirk off.

Roxy froze. “Oh, uh, I was… just wondering where this cool skater kid that Dirk’s always talking about is!! Haha!!” Roxy cringed, knowing that Dirk probably didn’t appreciate her sharing that fact.

“D’aww! Yeah, she’s here! I’m pretty sure I saw her in the kitchen… you want me to go grab her?”

Roxy froze again, eyes fixed on Dirk. To the untrained eye, he may have looked just as composed as ever. But to Roxy, it was obvious that Pinky had just revealed what she had just come to tell Dirk, and that this was indeed new information to him.

“No, that’s cool. We’ll run into each other later. Thanks Pinky.” Dirk said coolly.

“Suit yourself!” Pinky said as she bounced away.

Roxy was at a loss for words. Apparently, so was Dirk.

After a solid minute, Dirk was finally able to crack out, “Hey, you wanna go outside?”

“Sure.”

The two headed out the back door onto a large, opulent veranda that was surprisingly deserted for such a big party. Dirk walked over to the far end that overlooked a little pond, and rested his arms on the edge of the guard rail.

“Holy shit, Rox. How the fuck did I miss _that_.”

“…”

“It is literally unbelievable that this didn’t come up before now.” Dirk stared off into the distance in literal disbelief.

“I mean… I might not have noticed if she hadn’t started hittin’ on me…”

Dirk turned to face Roxy, and didn’t try to hide his surprise.

“I uh…” Roxy hesitated. “So I found her in the kitchen. I wanted to get the real 411, y’know? So I point blank asked him if he, uh, she was gay, and-“

Dirk let out a loud sigh.

“I asked in a fun way!!” Roxy continued, “But yeah I was all like “Hey lol u gay?” and she got all weird and like… leaned in all close, and for a sec I thought she was a dude tryin’ to say “hell no I ain’t gay,” but then I got a better look at her, like, down her shirt at the sports bra coverin’ up her ‘lil twin peaks swimin’ around in that big-ass jersey, and realized that she was sayin’ “hell yea I’m gay (and also a chick),” aaaaand then I gracefully excused myself from the kitchen to go find you.”

Dirk brought a hand to his forehead and started to rub his temples. Roxy held out the drink she had absconded with, and he downed it in one gulp. Nothing made sense. He ran his hand through his hair, looked up at the sky, and let out another big sigh.

“You okay?” Roxy asked.

With his hand still in his hair, he looked at Roxy. “I think… I think I need to be alone for a bit?”

Roxy looked down at the ground and smiled. “Gotcha.” She lingered for a bit, let out a small sigh, and walked back inside.


	14. Follow Your Heart

Dirk’s head was spinning. He hadn’t prepared for this. Dash was a girl.

But why should that matter? Did it matter?

He recalled all the times he’d refuted the claim that he was “SUCH a gay dude” in favor of not labeling himself. But did that even matter if Dash was gay?

Fuck. He hadn’t prepared for this.

Dirk took a deep breath and sat down, back facing the pond, resting against the guard rail. Even though it was dark and chilly, he wasn’t ready to go back in, and was having trouble figuring out what he should do next. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

He still hadn’t really figured anything out a few minutes later when he heard the door open, followed by some footsteps. He couldn’t see who it was from where he was sitting, and was about to get up to check when he heard a voice.

“So, uh, it’s pretty chilly out, huh? Heh.” Dirk froze—it was Dash’s voice.

“Yeah.” Another voice whispered. It was Shy.

Dirk sat back down.

After some silence, Dash spoke up again, “Listen. I’m sorry, uh again, for the other day. I’m sorry I’m bad at apologizing and I’m sorry I always do stuff that I gotta apologize for.”

Shy let out a sigh.

“Can we please just be… okay??” Dash sounded genuinely apologetic, and a little desperate.

Shy sighed again. “It’s fine, Dash.” She didn’t sound like it was fine. “I mean… I’m still mad, but I wish that you would stop being mad that I’m mad.”

“I’m not mad!” Dash almost shouted.

“Dash, that’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Shy said quietly but sternly. She sighed again. “I appreciate your apologies, I really do. But you have to realize that they don’t magically make everything better, and that I’m still allowed to be upset.”

“…”

“But remember, even if I’m upset, we’re still friends, and that won’t change. So, even though I’m still a little upset, we’re still okay. Okay?” Shy’s voice was much softer now.

Silence followed. Dirk felt kind of weird eavesdropping like this, but figured there wasn’t a lot he could do at this point.

After what seemed like forever, Dash spoke again, “Listen, Shy, there’s something I gotta tell you,” Her voice was shaky.

Shy was silent.

“I, uh shit.” Dash took a deep breath. “I uh, I _like_ you, Shy. Like….. like-like you.”

Another long pause. “….Dash… I….”

“Like, like-love you, I think.”

More silence. Dirk had had his suspicions, but damn if this wasn’t a way to confirm them.

“Dash…. I…..” Shy’s voice sounded a little more composed that Dash’s. “I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I love you as a friend, but…”

“Is it ‘cuz I’m a huge jerk sometimes?” Dash kind of chuckled out in the way you laugh when you’re actually really sad about something.

Another sigh. “I just… It’s not you. I mean, you _can_ be a huge jerk, but that’s not it.”

“…”

“I just… I don’t think I’m attracted to girls, that way…”

“Gotcha.” Dash sounded like she might cry.

“Dash…”

“You know, it’s uh, pretty cold out here. You should go inside. Warm up or whatever,” Dash said in a squeaky voice.

Shy didn’t say anything. After another bit of silence, Dirk heard footsteps, then the door again. It was quiet, but he was pretty sure that Dash was still there.

What now.

This shit was bananas. The bananas had accumulated such that the amount went through the roof. Dirk was trying to wrap his head around everything, but felt exhausted. He’d built his life around avoiding confusion, which apparently had the unintended consequence of leaving him without the skills he needed to cope with all the feelings that he was experiencing right now.

He continued to listen, waiting for Dash to go back inside, when suddenly his phone let out a few loud beeps.

He started, fumbled his phone out of his pocket, and set it to silent. But it was too late.

“Hello?” Dash called out. “Is somebody out here?”

Shit shit shit. It was a text from Roxy. ‘u still ok bro? ;(‘

Dirk remained frozen in place. He could hear Dash walking toward him.

Shit shit shit shit. ‘Yeah, I’ll be in soon,’ he texted back.

“Dirk?”

Infinite shits.

“Hey,” Dirk said, looking up at Dash.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, uh… I came out for some fresh air a little bit ago.”

“…How long have you been out here?”

“…” Dirk looked at the ground.

“You heard all that, didn’t you?” Dash cringed and smacked herself in the forehead.

“Yeah… sorry.”

Dash groaned, but at least didn’t appear to be weirded out that Dirk was there.

Dirk stood up. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Dash sighed. She looked around, saw a bench a few feet away, and sat down. Dirk followed her.

“I dunno man. It’s just… It sucks. It freakin’ sucks!” She sat with her elbows on her knees, facing the ground as she spoke.

“…”

She placed her face in her hands, and continued, “I’ve liked her for so long, and it just doesn’t seem fair that the biggest thing stopping her from liking me would be that I’m a girl, y’know?”

Dirk let out a long sigh, and thought for bit. “….Yeah. Life is kind of bullshit like that sometimes.” He paused again. “But lemme tell you, you should be glad she had her shit together. I liked this dude for the longest time. I finally grew a pair and asked him out. We dated for a year before he figured out he wasn’t gay, and it ended ugly. Real top shelf, US-Certified Grade-A Angst shit.”

Dash uncovered her face and gave Dirk a sympathetic look, then rested her arms on her lap as she looked back at the ground. “I dunno man. I guess I’m glad she was upfront about it, and maybe that saved each of us a lot of heartache, but I can’t help but think, ‘Damn. Some sloppy makeouts woulda been nice.’” Dash looked up at Dirk and smiled a little. Dirk felt his face get a little hot, and hoped it wasn’t noticeable.

“So do you only like girls?” Fuck was that the wrong thing to ask? Shit. Fuck.

Dash sighed. “I dunno. I mostly only like Shy, I guess? We basically grew up together, and I never really gave anyone else much thought.” Dash paused, and then asked, “So do you only like boys?”

“I…” Dirk started, not quite sure what to say. He had never wanted to corner himself into a label or sexuality, but he’d also never been cornered into a situation that forced him to actually examine it—and at this particular moment, pressure was at an all-time high.

They sat in silence as Dirk tried to come up with an answer. Perhaps out of impatience, Dash scooted in close to Dirk. Her bare arm pressed up against his, and it was as if her warmth was communicated directly to his face, which he could no longer deny was visibly and embarrassingly flushed. At least it was dark out.

After a moment of hesitation, Dash placed her hand on Dirk’s, lightly curling her fingertips around it. She leaned in a little closer, and rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel the heat emanating from her cheeks into his collar bone. His heart was racing. Her breathing was shaky. She lifted her other hand to Dirk’s face and gently caressed it, starting at his ear and ending at his chin, letting her thumb brush lightly against his lips. He felt her grip on his hand tighten a bit as she simultaneously raised her face to meet his, and lightly pushed up on his chin to align his lips with her own.

On the one hand, Dirk really preferred to think these things through before taking any action. On the other hand, kissing.

Dirk brought his free hand to Dash’s face and returned the kiss. She parted her lips a bit and let the tip of her tongue glide across Dirk’s bottom lip. He took in a sharp breath, which struck him as very un-Dirk-like, but he really didn’t have time to care. Bringing one leg up and folding it underneath her and letting the other dangle off the side of the bench, Dash and repositioned herself so that her entire body was facing Dirk. She let go of Dirk’s hand and placed hers behind his head, using it to lightly guide him into each kiss. Dirk put his newly freed hand around Dash’s waist and pulled her closer at each intrusion of her tongue.

As the sloppy make-outs continued, Dirk traced Dash’s features with his fingertips, noting the details as he went along. He ran them from her ear, outlining her jaw line-- it was smooth but strong-- and continued from her chin to her neck to her collar bone-- still really smooth-- then from there to her shoulder, then back down her collar bone. It was a lot different than Jake, he thought.

In the meantime, Dash was getting more aggressive. She had probably reached the physical limits of how far she was going to get her tongue into Dirk's mouth, and had moved on to lightly biting his bottom lip after every few passes of her tongue. She had moved one of her hands to his back, and had it tucked under his wife-beater so that when Dirk finally let his teeth graze her bottom lip, her fingers dug gently into his flesh and made him let out another embarrassing gasp. The hand Dirk had been using to stroke the area just under Dash’s collar bone made a subconscious movement to her chest, and she let out a breathy ‘ah’ as she dug her nails into Dirk’s back.

“Shit! Sorry…” Dirk breathed.

“Naw, s’cool” Dash spoke into his neck.

Dirk moved the offending hand to Dash’s back, and they sat embracing on the bench as he digested what had just gone down.

“…Does that help you come up with an answer?” Dash laughed.

Dirk squeezed her a little, trying to process his thoughts.

It certainly wasn’t bad, but something just felt… _off_. The giddiness that he had felt toward Dash in the weeks before seemed all but gone. It was as if she’d just fallen off the “mack on” radar completely.

Is this just what it felt like to be SUCH a gay dude?

He pulled his hands away and sat back to get a better look at her. She was pretty boyish, but now that he knew she was a girl, he noticed she had some pretty defining feminine characteristics as well. The inadvertent chest grab also came to mind.

“I think…” he started, “I think I might just be a really gay dude.”

Dash sighed, then placed her hands on her face and pushed them over her forehead and through her hair. “Yeah… me too I think.” Another sigh. “Why’s everything gotta suuuuuuuuck?”

Dirk put his hand on her head ruffled up her hair. “Sorry.”

“It’s cool…” she said as she leaned back into his shoulder. They stayed that way for a few minutes until Dash asked if Dirk wanted to go back inside.

“I guess we shouldn’t miss the whole party, huh?” he said.

“Yeah.” Dash stood up and turned around to face Dirk. “Sorry, uh, if this was weird.”

“Whatever. Welcome to college. Pretty sure that ‘sloppy makeouts on your amazing journey of self discovery’ is a required course for graduation.”

Dash laughed and punched him in the back. Dirk felt that she’d be okay. And even though it had been a weird, bananas-through-the-roof kind of day, he felt that he’d be okay too.

 

***

 

They headed back into the party, which had notably fewer guests than before. Rarity was loudly complaining about how much she hated “Project Runway” as she spilled a drink and screamed for towels. Dirk spotted Roxy in the distance, who had appeared to be, perhaps predictably, hitting things off with Pinky.

“Thhhhhiiiss is my BRO!” Roxy drunkenly slurred as Dirk walked up to them.

“Ohmy GODDD whever’ve you guys been? “ Pinky, who appeared to be equidrunk to Roxy, asked Dash.

“We’ve been here at the party! Where’ve you been? Drunk town?” Dash teased as she flicked Pinky in the forehead.

“Ha! Havve I ever!!” she clinked her drink with Roxy. “Also, ow!” She rubbed her forehead.

Roxy had pulled up a chair behind Dirk and was trying to climb onto his shoulders. “TO THE BATHROOM!” she shouted. Dirk sighed, and proceeded to give her a piggy-back ride to the bathroom. It was pretty nostalgic. Just before he set her back down in front of the bathroom, she whispered into his ear, “Yooou okay?”

“Better than ever,” he smiled at her. She gave a thumbs up, which he returned, and she disappeared into the door.

Dirk looked out at the party again, and saw Dash carrying around Pinky on her back. He didn’t see Shy or Twilight, and AJ appeared to be passed out on the couch clutching a bottle of SoCo. Roxy exited the bathroom, smiled at Dirk, and shouted, “BACK TO THE PARTY!!!” He kneeled down so she could climb back up, and he brought her to where the Dash/Pinky totem was teetering around. The four of them initiated a 2x totem 4x hand 5x high combo, and their hearts welled with the human emotion known as friendship.

Shit was bananas, no doubt, but shit was gonna be okay.

 


End file.
